Commission publishes the General Report 2022: EU’s solidarity in action at the time of geopolitical challenges

Today, the Commission published the 2022 edition of the EU General Report, in line with the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union. The report presents the key activities of the EU in 2022, with a strong focus on EU’s response to Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine and the unwavering solidarity with Ukraine.

In particular, the EU adopted more than 200 measures to help the Ukrainian state and people, and support the Member States in dealing with consequences especially on Europe’s economy and energy security. Around 4 million people fleeing the war received temporary protection in the Member States. The EU adopted nine packages of harsh sanctions to curtail Russia’s ability to wage war and mobilised close to €50 billion in support for Ukraine.

The EU also acted decisively to phase out its dependency on Russian fossil fuels, support citizens facing high energy bills and accelerate the EU’s clean-energy transition. Thanks to its REPowerEU plan, it progressively diversified its supplies, reached record gas storage levels (above 95% in November), and overshot the target for reducing gas consumption.

The EU also continued delivering on its green agenda and sustainable and inclusive growth, as well as the successful implementation of the 800 billion Recovery Plan NextGenerationEU. The EU stayed the course of the Green Deal: its net domestic emissions were 30% lower than in 1990, and the EU is well on track to meet the 2030 target. The EU also increased the 2030 target for renewables to 45% compared to the previous target of 40%, while important political agreements were reached on the revision of the EU Emissions Trading System, the creation of a Social Climate Fund and implementation of the new Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism.

In the digital sector, the year saw the adoption of the Digital Services Act and the Digital Markets Act, along with new legislation on universal chargers. In terms of equality, decisive steps were taken on the Women on Boards Directive, on pay transparency measures, and on the directive on adequate minimum wages. The report is available in all official languages of the EU as a fully illustrated book and in an online version.